Sioux City 1, Laredo 0 – Box
It was a clear pitcher’s duel at Lewis & Clark Park Wednesday as the Sioux City Explorers barely defeated the Laredo Lemurs 1-0. Sioux City starting pitcher Patrick Johnson went eight innings and allowed just two hits. Jose Flores picked up the save with a perfect ninth inning. For Laredo, Luis Pollorena pitched a stellar game as well. He went seven innings with the one earned run and six strikeouts. Ryan Beckman pitched an inning with two strikeouts. As a testament to the strength of pitching on both sides, there were only five hits allowed in total.
The single run for Sioux City came in the seventh inning. SS Noah Perio led off the inning with a single to get a man on base. Three batters later, 1B Matt Koch hit a two-out double to plate Perio, which ended up being all the Explorers needed.
Amarillo 5, Joplin 4 (Completion of suspended game from July 9) – Box
In the first game of a Wednesday doubleheader, the Amarillo Thunderheads won on a walk-off double in the seventh inning. With two outs and men on first and second, SS Tyler Urps won the game for Amarillo with a ground rule double. Urps and 2B Juan Martinez led Amarillo with two hits each. LF Logan Vick also played a big role in the win after hitting a two-run homer.
Kyle Bellows was outstanding pitching in relief for the Thunderheads. Bellows took the win after pitching a scoreless final three innings.
As great of a win as it was for the Thunderheads, it was just as tough of a loss for Joplin. 2B Mitch Glasser had a standout game, hitting a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, a walk and an RBI.
Amarillo 7, Joplin 5 (Regularly scheduled game) – Box
There were 25 hits combined in the second game between Amarillo and Joplin, but Amarillo once again came out on top, this time 7-5. Joplin struck first in the first inning with a two-run homer from 1B-C Carlos Ramirez. The Thunderheads would see that homer and raise it one with a three-run shot from 2B Juan Martinez in the third. The Blasters immediately followed with two runs in the offensive back and forth, but they wouldn’t be able to keep up the scoring. Two runs in the seventh for Amarillo broke the 5-5 tie and put it up for good.
Martinez led the Thunderheads in batting: 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs. Eight of the nine batters in their lineup recorded a hit. For Joplin, three guys carried the bulk of the load. CF Oscar Mesa and Ramirez each had three hits, and DH Jake Taylor had four.
Fargo-Moorhead 4, Sussex County 2 – Box
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks received a strong play from starting pitcher Brandon Mann and the top of the lineup to beat the Sussex County Miners 4-2. Mann pitched seven innings and allowed two earned runs. He also struck out seven. At the top of the order was CF Drew Muren and SS Zach Penprase, both of whom had two hits. LF Chad Mozingo had three hits in the three hole.
Mozingo hit an RBI single in the third inning, then the RedHawks scored two more in the fifth and capped the game off with an RBI double in the eighth from 3B Frazier Hall.
Both of Sussex County’s two runs came in the fifth inning. C Jayson Hernandez hit an RBI double, followed immediately by an RBI single by LF Johnny Bladel.
Winnipeg 5, Gary SouthShore 2 – Box
The Winnipeg Goldeyes held off a late push by the Gary SouthShore RailCats in a 5-2 win. 2B Brad Boyer scored a slightly unusual first run for Winnipeg off a balk. C Luis Alen pushed the lead to three with a two-run home run in the fifth inning. And 3B Josh Mazzola pushed the lead to five with a two-run home run in the next inning.
The Winnipeg pitching staff performed quite well for the most part. Anthony Smith picked up the win in his quality start of six innings and zero runs allowed. Rett Varner and Brad Mincey each pitched a scoreless inning, and Jailen Peguero got the two-out save.
The RailCats tried to come back in the ninth inning and managed to score twice, but the five-run deficit proved to be too much. DH Jon Jones hit an RBI single in the inning, and Jones later scored on a wild pitch.
Kansas City 7, Lincoln 0 – Box
Kansas City scored early and often in a 7-0 rout over Lincoln. The T-Bones scored all seven runs in the first four innings and had 15 hits in total. Back-to-back RBI singles from DH Jake Blackwood and LF Adam Bailey put Kansas City up two in the first inning. Fast forward to the fourth inning with the T-Bones up 5-0, they got two RBI doubles from Blackwood and CF Robby Kuzdale. Blackwood was the clear star of the night with a 3-for-5 showing to go with three runs and two RBIs. C Brian Erie also had three hits for Kansas City.
In the team shutout, starter Blake Holovach went six innings for the T-Bones. Joe VanMeter went the next two, and Kris Regas closed it out.
It wasn’t a good night for Lincoln, but C Ryan Wiggins had two hits, and Moises Melendez pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Wichita 5, Grand Prairie 2 – Box
A three-run sixth inning broke open a close game for the Wichita Wingnuts to help them defeat the Grand Prairie AirHogs 5-2. With Wichita actually losing 2-1, DH Matt Padgett hit a two-RBI single to take the lead for good. RF Harrison Kain added an RBI double to round out the inning.
The first run for the AirHogs came from a 3B Ridge Hoopii-Haslam RBI double in the second inning. The second came from LF Willie Cabrera’s RBI single in the third.
3B TJ Mittelstaedt, 2B Luis Hernandez and Kain all had two hits for Wichita. C Zane Chavez was the only AirHog with two hits. Wichita starting pitcher Omar Bencomo struck out nine in his quality start of six innings and one earned run.
St. Paul 3, Sioux Falls 1 – Box
Although the two teams combined for 21 hits, the St. Paul Saints only defeated the Sioux Falls Canaries 3-1. Sioux Falls scored its only run in the first inning off an 3B RJ Perucki RBI single. DH Ian Gac’s RBI double for St. Paul tied the game in the third, and the Saints took the lead in the fourth with an RBI single from CF Alonzo Harris. He had another RBI single in the sixth for good measure. Harris had an outstanding night as he went 4-for-5 from the plate with one run and two RBIs. Perucki had three hits for the Canaries.
St. Paul’s starter Jeff Shields picked up the win after allowing just one earned run in seven innings. The Sioux Falls starter, Miguel Pena, lost and allowed 12 hits, but all in all, he only allowed two earned runs in six innings.
